RICHMOND, Va. - Frank Barksdale the Third does not receive an allowance like many other children his age. The 16-year-old Trinity Episcopal junior has earned every penny in his pocket -- hauling garbage.
"My mom and dad told me if I wanted money I had to go out and make it," the 16-year-old entrepreneur said. "I had an idea a few years ago to start my own business and give back to the community and make a little pocket change."
Frank Barksdale III
Every Sunday, rain or shine, Frank pulls his neighbors' trash cans on Richmond’s Kensington Ave to the curb.
Fourteen customers pay 75 cents a week for Frank’s services. That is $10.50 in Frank's pocket.
"It definitely taught me that I wanted to be an entrepreneur and my own employer," Frank said.
The soft-spoken teen does not blow through his earnings buying video games or the must-have sneakers. He donates a portion of his salary to the American Red Cross.
So far, Frank has donated $4,000 over of seven years.
"At the end of the year I decided I wanted to give back to the community," Frank said. "Whenever you saw disaster you always saw the Red Cross, so I decided to donate $100 of my earnings. And every year I decided to donate a little bit more."
Needless to say mother Antoinette Barksdale is proud of her son.
"It just warms my heart because that is him," Antoinette Barksdale. "He is a great kid. I really love him."
Frank and his mother Antoinette
Antoinette said the trash business has taught her son a valuable lesson about commitment and responsibility.
"When you choose to do something and people are relying on you to do it. That you follow through,” she said.
Frank’s neighbors appreciate his hard work and generosity.
"My wife and I think the world would be a better place if there were more kids like Trey," one neighbor said.
Frank Barksdale the Third is a generous teen who earns his allowance the old fashioned way, and then gives back.
"He always puts other people before himself," Frank's father said. "He always thinks of other people before himself and he has done that since he was a little child."
Greg McQuade and CBS 6 News are featuring local heroes in a weekly “Heroes Among Us” segment. Watch Greg’s reports Thursdays on CBS News at 6 or here on WTVR.com. If you would like to nominate someone to be featured on “Heroes Among Us,” click here to email heroes@wtvr.com.
